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Chapter 21




Chapter 21. One of the Two Should Have Been Done
“……!”
A hand lunged toward his face.
Thud.
It immediately gripped his neck.
At that moment, for some reason,
Karahen's eyes focused on the owner of that hand.
A mask of plain black, unadorned. His hair was clearly visible, but perhaps due to a perception-disrupting spell, its color was indistinct.
However, amidst the chaos, one thing was clear.
His eyes.
The moment Karahen met that cold gaze, he thought instantly.
‘……I’m going to die.’
In fact, the feeling of death was something Karahen was all too familiar with.
From the day he was recognized for his talent and entered the Deculan family as an apprentice mage, stepping onto the battlefield for the first time, through dozens of battles.
No battle was ever easy.
Those who rebelled against the Deculan family always had a hidden trick, and when facing such opponents, one had to always be on high alert.
A moment's lapse could mean the loss of one's head, such was the nature of the battlefield.
Yet, even so—
Chill.
The premonition of death he felt at this moment was more vivid than ever.
That was why.
Karahen canceled the spell he was casting, suppressing the backlash of mana while forcefully casting another spell.
The spell was not particularly impressive.
Bang—!
It was a basic spell that simply unleashed a shockwave.
It had no particular brilliance, a spell anyone could cast.
But, that simple spell ultimately saved Karahen from death.
For a moment, that is.
Thud, Thud.
The recoil from the shockwave sent him floating back a few steps.
“Cough.”
As he spat out a mouthful of blood and tried to catch his breath,
Boom!
A deafening sound echoed.
The masked figure, who had been pushed back, immediately charged forward.
“Block… it!”
His voice was muffled by the rising blood in his throat.
He was that desperate, and perhaps sensing this, the troubleshooters immediately came to his aid, leaving only the minimum number to keep an eye on Professor Falun.
Meanwhile, Karahen took a potion from his subspace. It was a powerful potion to help control the backlash of mana.
While it couldn't completely suppress the backlash, it would provide significant help.
“Phew.”
Indeed, the mana that had been roiling inside him soon calmed down.
During this time, Karahen watched the battle unfolding before him.
‘Where did such a person come from…?’
The masked figure was formidable.
Dozens of troubleshooters.
He withstood all their overwhelming attacks with his bare body.
Or rather, not entirely bare.
Though not immediately apparent, a thin protective field enveloped his entire body. It was a sign of advanced mana control.
Moreover,
To display such defensive capabilities, the quality of his mana had to be exceptional.
Could he do it himself?
Swallow.
No, that was impossible.
He might be able to cast the field, but to move freely on the battlefield while maintaining it was a different matter.
Even with his full concentration, taking a single step was difficult.
Boom! Bang!
Crack!
Until he reduced the number of troubleshooters.
What could he say?
From that moment on, Karahen was overwhelmed by an indescribable emotion.
‘…It’s incredible.’
How could he fight like that?
He didn’t maintain the protective field around his body at all times. Just for a moment, the exact moment when a spell struck his body, he perfectly cast it.
What about the spells he used?
Optimal and swift.
He cast the most appropriate spell to kill his opponent in the shortest time. His combat style, though crude at first glance, was all the more impressive for it.
There was no waste in his movements…
At that thought,
‘What am I… doing…?’
Karahen snapped back to reality.
This was a battlefield.
Yet, he was indulging in such idle thoughts while facing the enemy. Of course, he was still controlling his mana, but it was something he would never do under normal circumstances.
“I don’t know who you are… but I’ll kill you.”
His true identity could be revealed later.
No, it didn’t matter.
Given that he was here, he was likely a lackey of Heng or someone from the academy.
Perhaps even a professor from the academy helping Professor Falun.
But, did it matter?
What he needed was Professor Falun and the envelope he carried. Anyone else, hidden or not, could be killed without hesitation.
Sizzle—
A magic circle appeared in the air in an instant.
Since he had already decided to kill, he didn’t need a particularly intricate spell like when targeting Professor Falun.
He simply accumulated a destructive and rapid-fire spell.
However, the power of that spell was by no means small.
Karahen, whose other name was the Fire Demon of Deculan, had received the Fire attribute vision from Deculan and had burned countless knights and mages in numerous battles.
His specialty was annihilation.
Flash—!
Dozens of overlapping magic circles in the air suddenly lit up.
The intention was to obliterate the masked figure and the troubleshooters around him.
When those dozens of spells hit the masked figure, a deafening explosion shook the mansion.
Or rather, it wasn’t even an explosion.
Whine—!
It was just a ringing in the ears.
Cough.
Karahen spat out a mouthful of blood and smiled.
Troubleshooters? Who cares.
Ultimately, what mattered was completing the mission. In that sense, the masked figure was a target that must be eliminated. The deaths of the troubleshooters were not a consideration.
‘Phew—’
Karahen wiped the sweat from his forehead and took a deep breath.
‘Uncharacteristically, I got excited.’
The thought of possibly dying and the awe he felt for the enemy. These complex emotions had stimulated his pride, causing an overreaction.
Still, he hadn’t lost his minimal rationality.
If he worked together with the remaining troubleshooters, he could somehow subdue Professor Falun.
That was his thought.
Swallow, Swallow.
As Karahen, thinking the situation was resolved, drank two potions in quick succession,
“Is that all?”
A voice echoed in his ear.
“…?”
Karahen, still drinking the potion, only rolled his eyes to find the source of the voice.
And the question in his eyes soon turned to shock.
“…!”
Amidst the burning flames,
Something surged.
And then—
Snap!
A hand gripped his neck.
“Gasp, gasp.”
In an instant, his breath was cut off, and the owner of the hand whispered.
“I told you. This place is your grave. You should have done one of the two. Either run like a dog when the opportunity arose, or beg for your life.”
“Gasp….”
Karahen managed to lower his eyes.
There, standing unscathed, was the masked figure. The same eyes as before.
‘Dying—’
Crack.
That was Karahen’s last memory.
* * *
I took in the limp form of Karahen.
‘Phew…’
I had been lucky in many ways.
First, from the start.
Mages, no matter how skilled, are vulnerable during casting.
Normally, he would have set up multiple layers of defense, but in the current situation, Karahen was only on guard against Falun.
After that, even I was surprised.
The sudden sound of a spell breaking.
‘Indeed, Karahen is not just anyone.’
If it were another mage, they would have died without even realizing their neck was broken.
My ambush was sudden, and the method of breaking the protective field was not widely known among mages at this point.
It was a method we and my comrades had devised, so it was natural.
Still, I thought the situation would become quite complicated after that.
If Karahen had taken more time to stall with the troubleshooters and set up his defenses, it would have turned into a drawn-out battle.
And for a drawn-out battle—
‘My mana reserves are insufficient.’
Dealing with the troubleshooters wasn’t particularly difficult, but Karahen’s spells were hard to block with just a protective field.
In a way, Karahen’s last spell was a great help to me.
It not only eliminated the troubleshooters instantly but also made him overconfident, giving me an opening.
However,
“…”
I glanced down at my stealth suit. More precisely, I focused on the Fire Mark hidden beneath it.
‘Clearly, there was a reaction.’
Just before Karahen’s last spell surged,
I had invested a significant amount of mana into the protective field.
But, for some reason,
A strange sensation spread from the Fire Mark, merging with the protective field.
‘Why?’
I don’t know.
Did the protective field stimulating the Fire Mark?
No, that’s unlikely. There was no reaction from the Fire Mark while blocking the troubleshooters’ spells.
Still, it helped me block Karahen’s spell effectively, so it wasn’t a bad thing.
‘I need to study this further.’
I organized my thoughts after that.
The battle with Karahen was over, but the situation wasn’t entirely resolved.
“…”
The room was silent.
Everyone’s eyes were on me.
Professor Falun had skillfully retracted the spell he was casting. Unlike Karahen, he had enough time to do so, so there was no sign of mana backlash.
Only—
Crack! Crack!
Perhaps regretting the wasted mana, he had encased the troubleshooters in ice.
The restrained troubleshooters watched the situation with shock, their eyes filled with the same emotion.
Awe, or fear.
They likely couldn’t believe Karahen had died so futilely. Why wouldn’t they? I would find it hard to believe in such a situation too.
Still,
‘…Let’s see.’
I found a small pouch in the limp form of Karahen.
A subspace pouch.
If Karahen had the Deculan vision, it would be in here.
If he was unlucky, he might have left it in some place of his own in the Deculan family, but generally, combat mages don’t trust anyone and keep their visions on them.
The problem was—
‘The owner recognition is still active.’
The pouch, which sparked slightly when I infused mana, was not a concern.
I collected Karahen’s subspace pouch without hesitation.
It required a specific mana pattern to open, so I couldn’t see its contents immediately, but there were many ways to unlock it given time.
In any case,
After securing the spoils, I shifted my gaze.
“Professor Falun.”
“Speak.”
“Let me see the paper.”
Falun’s expression hardened at my words.
He soon cast a protective field, preparing to defend himself, but I didn’t give him the chance.
I lunged forward, using the same method to break his protective field as I did with Karahen.
“I’m not here to fight. I just need to confirm the content of the paper.”
“…Hmph, how can I trust a rat I can’t even see?”
A peculiar standoff.
“Phew, Ha!”
Pola, who had been lying on the ground, slowly rose.
Naturally, she drew her sword, though it was already broken from the battle, she didn’t mind.
I watched her for a moment, then took a step back.
“Whatever.”
“…?”
“Anyway, the content will have to be made public.”
Falun and Pola looked at me with puzzled expressions, but I didn’t bother to explain.
‘…’
Just then, I sensed someone approaching the mansion from a distance.
It was time for the suspicious masked figure to disappear.
“Professor Falun, are you alright?”
“We received the report and rushed here.”
Armored knights appeared on the ruins of the mansion.
The griffin emblem on their chests.
They were the Imperial Royal Knights.
* * *